Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 6

Author: H. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1899
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1795

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut > Part 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In the city of his adoption Mr. Morison was keenly interested, and his progressive ideas have left their impression on the material improve- ments of the town. He introduced the present system of water works; was instrumental in starting the Central Bank of Norwalk, and was also connected with the Gas Company. He served as a bank director nearly all of his busi- ness life. Twice he was warden of the borough, and ever active in the best interests of his chosen political faith, the Democratic. The poor and needy ever found in him the helpful friend, and many a poverty-stricken family has cause to bless his name. He was liberal in his charity, and giving for sweet charity's sake, instead of fame, the world will never know how large his boun- ties were. To churches of all denominations he gave freely, and found his own religion chiefly in the beautiful words of the Master: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto Me." On February 10, 1884, at the city of Nassau in the Bahama Islands, he answered the final summons, and the soul of Thomas H. Morison passed out to meet its God.

E ADWIN HOYT (deceased). On Main street, about the center of the city of Norwalk, in Fairfield county, stands the Hoyt residence, which one hundred and forty years ago was built by Goold Hoyt, grandfather of our subject, in

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

Digitized by

Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

what was then a mere wilderness, Main street being then a pioneer road winding round the hill like the letter S. In this time-honored house have lived and died the representatives of three generations.

Simon Hoyt, the first of the family in Amer- ica, came with his brothers from Dorsetshire, England, when thirty-five years old, making the trip on the "Abigail." or the "George," arriving October 8, 1628-29. From him the line is traced through Walter, Zerrubbal, Joseph, James, Goold, Ebenezer Diamond, Edwin and Ebenezer Diamond, who as will be seen is of the ninth generation. James Hoyt, great-grand- father of Edwin, established a permanent home in Norwalk. Goold Hoyt, his son, was born January 9, 1738, in Fairfield county, married Miss Elizabeth Diamond. daughter of Ebenezer Diamond, and then took his bride to live in the home he had built. Here were born to them five children, named respectively: Thomas, Goold, Esther, Ebenezer D. and Monson. The father of this family, and also his sons, carried on farm- ing where Norwalk now stands, owning extensive property, and there he died.

Ebenezer D. Hoyt, father of Edwin, was born in this house August 3, 1776, and received his education at the primitive schools of the neighborhood. He married Huldah Hanford, who was born in that locality, a daughter of John and Mehitabel Hanford, and they took up their abode in the Hoyt house, where was born to them a family of eight children, namely: Edwin will be mentioned farther on; Eliza (deceased), married Charles Hoyt, of Norwalk (a second cousin); Monson died in California, whither he had gone during the "gold fever" epidemic; Goold and William G. both died in infancy; Mary became the second wife of Charles Hoyt, husband of her deceased sister Eliza; William T. died single; Harriet married John Cleveland, of Massachusetts. The father of this family, who, in addition to farming, owned sloops, and carried freight to New York, died August 11, 1823, his wife on March 8, 1828.

Edwin Hoyt, the subject-proper of this mem- oir, and whose name appears at the opening of the sketch, was born at the old Hoyt homestead, February 18, 1800, and, like his father before him, followed farming, and did a freight-carrying business, chiefly to and from New York. He married Eliza S. Smith, of Ridgefield, Fairfield county, a daughter of Josiah Smith, of the same locality, and his wife, Abigail (Beers), of Nor- walk, and after marriage they made their home in the Hoyt house, where a family of ten chil- dren came to them, to wit: Charlotte, Ebenezer

D., Emily A., Elizabeth H., Monson, Frederick E., William T., Margaret, Eliza G. and Henry A. Of these, Charlotte married John J. Thomas, of Norwich, Conn. (he is now deceased). Eben- ezer D. died September 13, 1871; he was a jeweler in New York City. Emily A. married Charles B. Mott, of Norwalk, who is now de- ceased. Elizabeth H. has remained single, and is still living at the old Hoyt home. Monson en- listed in Company E, 5th Conn. Regiment, and saw two years' active service; on his return from the war he carried on a drug store in Norwalk, where he died November 30, 1896; he was a very prominent man, kind-hearted and generous to a fault; in politics he was a stanch Repub- lican. Frederick E. is a resident of Marshall, Mich. William T. died November 18, 1869; he was a druggist in New York. Margaret died in infancy. Eliza G. died single, February 10, 1875. Henry A. died October 10, 1860, at the age of sixteen. The father of this interesting family was called from earth September 8, 1880, the mother on October 2, 1889. The family throughout, in their political associations, have been Whigs or Republicans, and in religious faith have always been strict Episcopalians.

A BRAM P. BRADLEY, a highly esteemed resident of Shelton, is a man whose industry and thrift have secured for him a comfortable competence, and, having entered upon his seventh decade, he is enjoying in well-earned leisure the fruits of his labors.

Mr. Bradley comes of good old Colonial stock, and his grandfather, Abraham Bradley, who was born probably at New Haven, was an extensive land owner in that vicinity, his farm being now included within the city limits. He married Miss Mary Punchard, a native of that lo- cality, and their remaining years were spent at their homestead.

William Bradley, the only son of this worthy couple, was born on the farm at New Haven, in 1804, and in his youth learned the trade of a tanner and currier, which he followed throughout life. He was a Democrat in politics, and in re- ligious faith he and his estimable wife were Meth- odists. In 1826 he married Miss Caroline Mun- son, a native of Stratford, this county, and a descendant of an old English family. She was one of thirteen children, and her father, Isaac Munson, and all of her brothers, were sea-faring men. William Bradley died at his home at New Haven in 1874, and his wife passed away Decem- ber 28, 1872. They had a large family of chil- dren, of whom six lived to adult age: Abram

Digitized by Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

P., our subject; William, a mechanic in the rail- road shops at New Haven; Catharine, wife of Philando Armstrong; Emeline, who married Frank Harris, a wholesale liquor dealer; Mary, who married Albert Ramsdell, a carriagemaker; and Caroline, wife of Leaman Anthony. 'All ex- cept our subject are residents of New Haven.

Mr. Bradley was born March 6, 1827, at the old home in New Haven, where he grew to man- hood. He learned the blacksmith's trade, and, in 1848, went to Charleston, S. C., but a year later he returned home. Soon afterward he es- tablished himself in business in Newtown, this county, and in 1852 he removed to Birmingham (now known as Derby), where he remained about twenty years. In 1872 he located in Shelton, and until his retirement he carried on his trade successfully there. While he is not a politician in the strict sense of the term, he takes an in- telligent interest in the questions of the day, and is a supporter of the Republican party. In 1851 he married Miss Caroline Hubbell, daughter of Lewis Hubbell, a prominent agriculturist of the town of Huntington. Two sons were born of this union: Adelbert, formerly a piano maker in Derby, who is now serving as deputy sheriff of New Haven county; and William, a silversmith in Wallingford, Conn. The family is identified with the Methodist Church, of which Mrs. Brad- ley has been an active member for many years.

A LBERT HAMILTON EMERY, the distin- guished inventor, now residing at Stam- ford, Fairfield, Co., Conn., is a descendant of an old English family, and belongs to the eighth generation in direct descent from John Emery, the head of the American branch, who was prominent among the early settlers at Newbury, Massachusetts.

John Emery was born Sept. 29, 1598, at Romsey, Hants, England, the son of John and Agnes Emery, and had a younger brother, An- thony, born at Hants, who came to America with him; he also settled at Newbury, but later removed to Kittery, Maine. John Emery sailed for America on April 3, 1635, in the ship "James," of London, landing at Boston on June 3 of the same year, and immediately located at Newbury, where he had a grant of one-half acre of land, being one of ninety-one freeholders. He seems to have been a man of liberal mind and independent character, as on March 16, 1663, he was brought before the court at Ipswich, Mass., by Henry Jaques, constable of Newbury, on the charge of entertaining travelers [Quakers. ] On May 5th of that year the case was referred to

the next term of court, and when it came to trial Mr. Emery was fined four pounds sterling, with the costs and fees, "for entertaining strangers." The evidence given was to the effect "yt two men, Quakers, wr entertained very kindly to bed and table and John Emmerie shok ym by ye hand and bid ym welcome." Also, "that the witness heard John Emery and his wife say ' that he had entertained Quakers and that he would not put them from his house,' and used argument for the lawfulness of it." .In May, 1663, John Emery petitioned the General Court for the re- mission of his fine, the paper being signed by the selectmen of his town and fifty of the citizens, but the request was denied. This sturdy pioneer was also active in the case of Lieut. Robert Pike, refusing to recognize the authority of the court to deprive him and his neighbors of the right of petition. He was married in England to Mary - -, who died in Newbury, April -, 1649, leaving one son, John, and two daughters. On October 29, 1650, he married, for his sec- ond wife, Mrs. Mary Webster, née Shotswell, widow of John Webster, of Ipswich; by her he had one son, Jonathan. John Emery died in Newbury, Nov. 3, 1683; his wife died April 28, 1694.

II. Jonathan Emery, the next in the line of descent, was born at Newbury. Mass., May 13, 1652, and on December 3, 1675, he was "im- pressed " as a soldier in the British army for King Philip's war. On the 19th of the same month, at the famous battle of Narragansett, he was wounded in the shoulder. On November 29, 1676. he married Mary Woodman, daughter of Edward Woodman, and they had ten children, of whom John, the second child, was the ancestor of our subject.

III. John Emery was born in 1678, and was married in February, 1705, to Hannah Morse, daughter of Joshua and Joanna Morse. They had nine children, of whom their son, Joshua, was the second.

IV. Joshua Emery was born March 21, 1709, and was married March 28, 1728, to Sarah Smith, by whom he had six children, the eldest being a son, John.

V. John Emery was born January 6, 1729, and died January 7, 1764. He was married at Haverhill, Mass., on January 24, 1751-52, to Abigail Webster, and they had four children, their third son being named Joshua.

VI. Joshua Emery, our subject's grandfa- ther, was born at Haverhill, March 14, 1757, and at the beginning of the Revolutionary war en- gaged in the struggle for freedom, taking part in the battle of Bunker Hill. On January 21, 1781,

Digitized by Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he was married, in Walpole, N. H., to Ruth Nott, by whom he had eight children, and his death occurred January 6, 1832.

VII. Samuel Emery, the sixth child of Joshua and Ruth (Nott) Emery, was born July 14, 1792, in New Hampshire, and took up his home at Mexico, Oswego Co., N. Y., at an early day, there being only three houses in the place at that time. His remaining years were spent there, his death occurring January 24, 1866. He was first married, on January 2, 1820, to Cath- erine Shepard, who was born at Alstead, N. H., August 19, 1795, and died July 27, 1854. By this union he had nine children-six sons and three daughters-and by his second wife, Mrs. Margaret Sparrowhawk, whom he wedded in Oc- tober, 1856, he had one daughter.

VIII. Albert H. Emery, the subject proper of these lines, was the second youngest of the nine children of Samuel and Catherine Emery, and was born June 21, 1834, at the old home in Mexico, N. Y. His boyhood was spent upon a farm, and after completing the course of study offered in the district schools near his home he attended the academy at Mexico for two terms, making a specialty of surveying. He practiced farm surveying near his home for two years, dur- ing which time he taught a district school in an adjoining town for four months. He was then employed for a year in railroad surveys, and in the fall of 1855 he entered the Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute, at Troy, N. Y., where he was graduated in June, 1858, with the degree of Civil Engineer, a part of his expenses during his course having been met by his work as a tutor in the school in topographical drawing. Since 1858 his time has been occupied with his inventions, and during this period he has taken out more than one hundred patents, mostly in the mechan- ical line, although a few are chemical processes. Some are for power presses, heavy and light, and a large number are connected with scales, guages and testing machines. He designed and constructed the four-hundred-ton hydraulic test- ing machine now in use at the United State arsen- al at Watertown, Mass., which has been de- scribed as "one of the greatest pieces of engi- neering ever done." The fame of this machine has spread over the world, and at present there are eighteen others in this country, Canada and Europe, constructed under Mr. Emery's patents, five being in universities and two in institutes of technology. Our Government publishes each year a report of the work done on the Water- town machine, a volume of seven or eight hun- dred pages being usually required, as the appa- ratus is in operation almost every working day

the year round. The volumes now (1898) num- ber nineteen, with two others in press. The work consists in testing materials for construc- tion, giving the tension or compression and the stress or load up to eight hundred thousand pounds. The specimens, which are chiefly metal, vary in length from one inch to thirty feet and in thickness from that of a hair to that of a bridge column. In 1892 the reports showed over fourteen thousand specimens then tested which weighed in the aggregate more than three hundred thousand pounds, and the constant work since that time has greatly increased the number. In 1881, at the fair of the Massachusetts Char- itable Mechanical Association, which was attended by more than three hundred thousand people, nu- merons prizes were offered, including fifteen hun- dred diplomas, six hundred silver medals, fifty gold medals (the blank metal in the latter costing $32.50 each), and one grand medal of honor, said to have cost $500.00, the only one ever awarded by the Society, and which was offered on this occasion for " the exhibit most conducive to human welfare." This valuable and signifi- cant prize was awarded to Mr. Emery for the testing machine mentioned above, by a special. committee of seven appointed by and from the American Association of Arts and Sciences, and the same machine gained the gold medal awarded for "the best scientific apparatus."

During the Civil war Mr. Emery was for six months employed as an assistant of General Rich- ard Delafield, then in charge of the fortifications of New York State, including those of New York harbor. On resigning from this position Mr. Emery spent two years and a half in experiment- ing upon ordnance, projectiles and fuses, and during that time he secured several patents in this country and Europe, which embodies some of the results of his investigations. In the course of these experiments he made and fired a great number and variety of projectiles of different sizes and construction. At present he has about thirty applications pending in the Patent Office at Washington pertaining to ordnance, fuses, cart- ridges, projectiles, and gun carriages, and he is now building for the government a twelve-inch disappearing gun carriage, which raises a fifty- two-ton gun fourteen feet, from loading to firing position. The charge for this gun is a thousand pound projectile and 486 pounds of brown per- forated powder, over one hundred thousand pounds of ammunition being required for the gun in testing this carriage. From the first appear- ance of the gun above the parapet the time oc- cupied in reaching position, firing and retreating out of sight is only from six to ten seconds. The

Digitized by Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

teinment contract for this carriage and its foundations amounted to $120,000, with $20,000 additional for the testing, which is expected to cover seventy rounds of projectiles and over this- ty thousand pounds of powder.

On March 3, 1875, Mr. Emery was married. at Westmoreland. Oneida Co., N. Y., to Mrs. Fannie B. Myers, who was born September 1, 1839. Their only son, Albert H., Jr., born Au- gust 25, 1876, was graduated from Cornell Uni- versity, June 16, 1898, with the degree of Mechan- ical Engineer. While at the University he was a member of Sibley College, which had 450 students in 1898, and he was awarded the fifth Sibley prize for proficiency in mechanical arts. There were five prizes given, and he received one of the two which went to the graduating class. He will be engaged with his father in work in connection with guns and gun carriages for the

government. Of the many secret societies con- nected with the University, the Sigma XI (Si) is the most popular and exclusive, and elects an- nually a very few of the graduating class and a few of the professors, only those of highest stand- ing, and Mr. Emery was honored by election to its membership, in May, 1898. His thesis, which covered 600 hours' work, in connection with the testing of the resistances of bicycle tires, chains and gears, was very highly commended by the Pope Manufacturing Company, of Hartford, Connecticut.

By her first marriage Mrs. Emery had one daughter, Margaret King Myers, who was mar- ried December 31, 1896, to George A. Clyde, of Rome, N. Y., of the firm of Clyde & Coleman, manufacturers of electric wire. The family is prominent in social life, and is identified with the Presbyterian Church, at Stamford. Mr Emery is connected with various scientific organi- zations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and his high attainments have brought him into fellowship with the leading scientists in all parts of the world.

J JOHN DAYTON. There are men in some fortunate communities whose deeds and vari- ous interests in life are seemingly inwrought in the very fiber of that communal existence whose memory is instinctively recalled at men- tion of such and such a city or village. It is in a manner akin to this that the name of John Dayton is associated with the history of Green- wich, Conn. For forty-six years he has been one of its prominent business men, and, for forty-

six years and longer, his influence has been di- rected in an almost incalculable degree to its up- building and advancement.

Mr. Dayton is one of the third generation that has been prominently identified with the history of Greenwich. His grandfather, David Dayton, a tanner and currier by occupation, and also a boot and shoe maker by trade, toward the close of the last century settled in the town of Greenwich. The family. however, extends far back into an early American history. In 1640 two brothers, Ralph and Robert Dayton, emi- grated from England and settled in East Hamp- ton, Long Island. John Dayton is the lineal descendant of Ralph Dayton. The great-grand- father of our subject was Jesse Dayton, who was born in 1735. It was David Dayton, the son of Jesse Dayton, who became the pioneer settler of the name in Fairfield county, Conn. David Dayton was born at East Hampton, Long Island, in 1761. He was married January 21, 1789, to Elizabeth Osborne, who was born at East Hamp- ton. Long Island, in 1778. The six children of David and Elizabeth (Osborne) Dayton were as follows: Betsey, who was born November 9, 1790, married Jonah Brundage, and died in New York; Jacob, born March 10, 1797, a farmer by occupation and for some time constable, died in Greenwich; Sarah, born July 26, 1795, married William Wood, and died in Greenwich; David, father of our subject, born March 6, 1798; Amy, born February 3, 1800, married B. Rundell, and died at North Castle, N. Y .; Mehitable, born June 21, 1802, died unmarried. David Dayton, the grandfather, died January 23, 1838, aged seventy-three years; his wife died April 10, 1837, aged sixty-one years.

David Dayton, the father of our subject, in his youth received only the education afforded by the district schools. On March 6, 1827. at the age of twenty-three years, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Brush, a native of Greenwich, and a daughter of Edward Brush. He had adopted the quiet vocation of farming, to which he was devoted throughout his life. Politically he was a Democrat of the school of Jackson and Jeffer- son. He neither sought nor accepted political position, but was content to devote his energies at home, farm and church, and in the latter con- nection he and his wife were consistent and de- vout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He practiced the virtues of industry, kindness and justice, and bequeathed to his children the legacy of a spotless name and the example of a blameless and active life, mellowed by affection and kindly sympathy. The mother died Sep- tember 20, 1863, and the father on January 26,

Digitized by Google

Google

Digitized by

Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1872. A brief record of the seven children of David and Elizabeth (Brush) Dayton is as fol- lows: John, the subject of this sketch, was born February 5, 1828; Sarah (Mrs. George Selleck). born February 15, 1830; Charles, born Decem- ber 4, 1832, died in Greenwich; Henry, born September 10, 1834, is connected with the Amer- ican Fire Insurance Company; Mary E., born December 28, 1836, married Solomon Mead, and died in 1897; David O., born February 23, 1840, died in New York: George H. (the youngest child). born August 22, 1842, enlisted in Com- pany I, 10th Conn. V. I., and served during the Civil war, participating in several engagements; he was shot through the right lung at the battle of Newbern.

John Dayton spent the first eighteen years of his life on his father's farm, and as the eldest son the burden of its cultivation was shared largely by him. During the winter months he attended the district schools, which were the old-fash- ioned kind. The building had slab seats and similar rude appliances. Jesse Lounsbury, a characteristic schoolmaster of his day, was his first teacher, and lingers deep in the memories of his many pupils. When eighteen years of age John Dayton resolved to learn the shoemaker's trade, with the aim of finally attaining a mer- cantile career. He began an apprenticeship un- der George Sherwood, for six years served faith- fully at the bench, and acquired the trade thor- oughly. His next step was to open in Green- wich a boot and shoe store, which he did in the spring of 1852, at the age of twenty-four years, and has continued the business, thus auspiciously begun, without interruption, during the past forty-six years, being to-day the oldest mer- chant in Greenwich. He has not confined his attention, however, to this mercantile pursuit. From time to time, as the village grew and changed in character and aims, and different public enterprises were suggested, there were various public improvements demanded, all call- ing for public-spirited and leading citizens to ad- vocate and support. To this material advance- ment of the community it would be difficult to find a citizen who has contributed so largely as John Dayton.

Mr. Dayton was one of the founders of the Greenwich Water Company, and one of the first to suggest a site for its reservoir, he and E. C. Benedict making the first preliminary survey which determined its location. The first water used for domestic purposes was turned into Mr. Dayton's home, and one year after the organiza- tion of the company he took charge and has since been its superintendent. He was one of

the founders of the Greenwich Savings Bank, and has been its first vice-president from the date of its organization. He is a prominent member of the Greenwich Board of Trade.

In politics Mr. Dayton has been a Democrat, and he has frequently been honored by the suf- frages of his fellow citizens. For twenty-six years he has served as constable, while for six years he has been deputy sheriff; was warden of the borough for several years, and assessor for many years. During President Johnson's admin- istration he was postmaster. He was elected to the State Legislature for 1870 and 1871, and served both years with credit and distinction. He has frequently been a delegate to the local County and State Conventions, and has for half a century been regarded as a leader of his party.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 6

Author: H. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1795

Author: H. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1899
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1795